Tektronix

8540

Research Quality: 20% complete

The Tektronix 8540 is a microprocessor development system that contains emulation hardware similar to that available for the 8550. The 8540 had no software development capability, but worked with the 8560, or other systems such as a VAX, which would provide the software development environment. The 8540 is unique in its day, in that the serial terminal could be connected to the 8540, on the bench, or to the 8560, and would pass UNIX commands automatically to the 8560, which passed emulator commands back to the 8540 for execution.^[1]

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What is it?

The Tektronix 8540 is a microprocessor development system that contains emulation hardware similar to that available for the 8550, including RAM cards, Trigger Trace Analyser, and 1 or 2 processor emulator cards, each with external probe. The 8540 had no software development capability, but worked with the 8560, or other systems such as a VAX, which would provide the software development environment. It was unique in its day, in that the serial terminal could be connected to the 8540, on the bench, or to the 8560, and would pass UNIX commands automatically to the 8560, which passed emulator commands back to the 8540 for execution. Thus a complete compile, link, load and emulate session could be run from a UNIX shell script.

What do the numbers mean?

Control & software2

Software development capability: None (worked with the 8560, or other systems such as a VAX, which would provide the software development environment)^[1]
Microprocessor support: Supported many 8-bit and 16-bit microprocessor types, with a change of emulator cards and probes, and installation of assembler and possibly compiler software^[1]

Configuration & options2

Type: Microprocessor development system (MDS)^[1]
Hardware includes: Emulation hardware similar to that for the 8550, including RAM cards, Trigger Trace Analyser, 1 or 2 processor emulator cards, each with external probe^[1]

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What replaced it?

siblingTektronix 8560— Can be connected to the 8560 via RS-422source^[1]

Where are the manuals?

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Not publicly documented

Field notes

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Not publicly documented

The following facts about the 8540 are absent from this record as of this revision. First-hand knowledge or a citation closes a gap; every submission is reviewed before publication.

No publicly documented production dates or lifecycle milestones (introduction, end of production, EOL) for the 8540 are on record.
Answerable by: OEM historical records or a trade-press announcement
No publicly documented variants, configuration options, or revision breakpoints of the 8540 are on record.
Answerable by: an OEM product catalog or an engineer who ordered or specified the tool
The control-system platform and OS era of the 8540 are not on record.
Answerable by: an engineer who operated it or OEM installation records
No publicly documented failure modes or field errata for the 8540 are on record.
Answerable by: a field service engineer, process engineer, or maintenance technician
The process node or technology generation of the 8540 is not on record.
Answerable by: an OEM datasheet or a fab qualification report